Casting apparatus



United States Patent Inventor Dong Sing Lewis Toledo, Ohio Appl. No.722,692 Filed April 19, 1968 Patented Dec. 15, 1970 AssigneeGerity-Schultz Corporation Toledo, Ohio a corporation of Ohio CASTINGAPPARATUS 10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

11.8. C1 164/265, 164/131,]64/316, 164/327 Hut. Cl B22d 31/00, B22d 5/02Field of Search 164/262,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,023,040 12/1935 Adams164/262 2,848,770 8/1958 Schuchardt 164/265 3,328,853 7/1967 Pekrol164/262 3,333,628 8/1967 Canner 164/269 Primary Examiner-J. SpencerOverholser Assistant Examiner-John E. Roethel AttorneyWilson & FraserABSTRACT: A die casting machine having a rotatable turntable structurecontaining a plurality of spaced apart cast article supporting spudmembers extending generally radially outwardly from the turntable tocooperate with a pair of cooperating dies. The cast article is cast ontoand supported by the spud member which is moved to selective positionsaway from the dies and is also rotated about the axis of the spud membersubsequent to its movement away from the casting station.

PATENTEU 0501 5 I970 sum 1 or 5 INVENTOR.

Dom Sme- Lam's PATENTEU [15m 5 19m SHEET 2 BF 5 D g INVENTOR. OMG HUGMimi-7 PATENTED 05m 5mm 3,547; 181

sum 3 or 5 INVENTOR.

DONG SING LEW/Q B PATENTEB DE; 1 5 I970 SHEET R BF 5 m OE . -l N VENTOR.

Dome S: we LEW/s Animus);

PATENTED DEC] 5 1970 SHEET 5 BF 5 FIG. 6

- INVENTOR. Dome Sme Laws CASTING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention v I The invention pertains to a diecasting machine wherein there is provided a structure for supporting thecast article after being ejected from the dies. The supporting structureis capable of moving the cast article away from the dies and rotatingthe article subsequent to moving away from the casting station.

v .2. Description of the Prior Art 1 Die casting machines are knownwherein the cast article is automatically moved from the dies to atrimming station. The US. Pats. to J. R. Schuchardt No. 2,848,770entitled DIE CASTING AND TRIMMING APPARATUS," and G. G. Pekrol No.3,328,853 entitled DIE CASTING AND TRIMMING MACHINE each disclosedapparatus wherein an article is cast in one position and then is rotatedby means of a turntable-like apparatus to a circumferentially displacedtrimming station. The U.S. Pat. to H. M. Canner No. 3,333,628 entitledDIE CASTING APPARATUS discloses an apparatus wherein an article is caston a supporting mechanism at one situs and is thereafter movedlongitudinally to quenching and trimming stations.

SUMMARY One of the primary objects of the present invention is theproduction of a die casting machine which will improve the die castingoperation by the provision of a machine in which the casting, quenching,trimming andstripping stations cycle automatically and simultaneously.The operations performed by the machine of the invention willeffectively and automatically produce finished die cast articles witharelatively low scrap and reject factor.

Broadly, the above, as well as other objects of the invention may beachieved by a die casting machine which comprises a pair of cooperatingdie casting dies having facing cavities; means for moving the dies intoand out of closed casting position; a turntable mounted in associationwith the dies; spud means mounted on the turntable and cooperating withthe dies for supporting a cast article; means for rotating the turntablewhereby selective ones of the spud means will align with the dies; andmeans'for rotating the spud means about an axis which is substantiallytransverse to the axis of rotation of the turntable. A

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of theinvention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the .art fromreading the following detailed description of an embodiment of theinvention when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a die casting machineincorporating the concepts of the invention with portions broken away tomore clearly illustrate the structure;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the machine illustrated inFIG. 1 with the die casting dies in a closed casting position;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view similar to FIG. 2 with the diecasting dies in an open positionand the turntable in an elevatedposition;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the cooperating cover andejector die members;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the machine illustrated in FIG. 2 takenalong line 5-5 thereof; and v FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view ofa portion of the machine illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, more specificallyillustrating the cast article supporting structure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, thereis illustrated a die casting machine which includes a stationary platen10 supported upon a floor engaging support frame 12 and a furnacestructure 14 for melting and holding or containing the molten metal tobe employed for producing metal die cast articles. Extending upwardlyfrom each of the four corners of the stationary platen 10 are verticalguide rods or stanchions 16. The lowermost ends of the guide rods 16 areanchored to the stationary platen 10 in any suitable fashion, while theuppermost ends are likewise anchored to a stationary back plate 18.

Intermediate the stationary platen l0 and the stationary back plate 18is a movable platen 20. The movable platen 20 is mounted forreciprocation on the guide rods 16 and is provided with suitablydisposed apertures at the four corners thereof to enable a propersliding fit on the guide rods 16.

A crossarm 22 having diametrically opposed outwardly extending portions24 is positioned between the back plate 18 and the movable platen 20.The crossarm 22 is interconnected to the movable platen 20 by means oftoggle linkages 26 and 28 pivotally interconnected and coupled betweenthe outwardly extending portions 24 of the crossarm 22 and yoke members30 affixed to the upper surface of the movable platen 20. Anotherlinkage member 32 is provided between the linkage 28 connected to themovable platen 20, and the back plate 18. v

The crossarm 22 is connected to a piston rod 34 of a hydraulic cylinder36 which is secured to the stationary back plate 18. The hydrauliccylinder 36 is of any conventional type connected to a source ofpressure fluid having suitable controls for the introduction andexhaustion of a pressure fluid. The pressure fluid source, lines,andassociated controls for the hydraulic cylinder 36 are now shown for thesake of clarity and brevity. Suffice it to say that the hydrauliccylinder 36 is effective to selectively impart vertical movement of thecrossarm 22 and the associated movable platen 20 as will be described ingreater detail hereinafter.

It will be appreciated from an examination of FIGS. 1 and 2 that whenthe movable platen 20 is in its lowermost vertical position, the loadthereof is carried by the stationary back plate 18 through the linkagemembers 28 and 30.

Mounted on the upper surface of the stationary platen 10 is a stationarycover die 40 having a molten metal conduit or gate 42 which is placed incommunication with the molten metal within the furnace 14 by means of anozzle 44 which is attached to the end of a hollow cylinder or gooseneck46. The gooseneck 46 is disposed in part within the molten metal whichis contained within the furnace I4 and is provided with port means, notshown, to permit the flow of molten metal into the hollow interior ofthe gooseneck 46. Molten metal is injected into the interior of thegooseneck 46 by a molten metal injecting system which includes a fluidpressure actuated cylinder 48 affixed to an A-frame supporting structure50 and an associated metal plunger 52.

An ejector die 60 is mounted to the undersurface of the movable platen20 by a depending support member 62 and is adapted to be supported insuch a fashion that the cavities therein align and face thecorresponding cavities in the stationary cover die 40. There must beprecise alignment of the cover die 40 and the ejector die 60 so that themating cavities .of the separable die halves, including the gate 42, therunner A tending shaft 54 which is aligned with and adapted to extendThe cavities of the cover die 40 and the ejector die 60 are I suitablyformed to provide a cavity 64 for the introduction of the distal end ofa cast article transfer spud means includes a turntable 70 which issupported for vertical movement on a shaft 72 which extends generallyupwardly from a pressure .fluid actuated cylinder 74 mounted beneath thestationary a platen 10. The shaft 72 extends through a coaxiallyarranged [.11 hollow shaft 75 disposed to extend through the stationaryplaten which is typically fitted with suitable bearing means 76,.shownclearly in FIG. 6 enabling relative rotational move ment to be effectedbetween the hollow shaft 75 and the sta- -itionary platen 10. Asecondary or lower turntable 77 is in- ,tegrally affixed to the upperend of the collar 75 and is "adapted to rotate therewith. The other orlower end of the collar 75 is connected to the output shaft of a gearreduction unit 78 which imparts rotating movement to the collar 75 andthe 1. associated turntable 77. The lower turntable 77 has a pluralityof upstanding guide rods 79 which are adapted to extend through suitablyformed bearing lined apertures in the turnta- He 70. It will beappreciated that upon suitable actuation of ,the pressure fluid actuatedcylinder 74, the shaft 72 and its as- .f :sociated turntable 70 may beselectively moved vertically up or down. The vertical movement of theturntable 70 is guided i' not only by the shaft 72, but also by theupstanding guide rods 79. Further, rotational movement may be impartedto the ifturntable 70 .by suitable energization of the gear reductionunit 78 whichcauses the hollow shaft 75 and the turntable 77 to rotatetherewith. When the turntable77 rotates, simultanef ous rotation iscaused in the turntable 70.

Quadrantly spaced-on the upper surface of the turntable 70 a pluralityof cast article supporting spuds 80. The spuds 80 ---are mounted forrotation about a horizontal axis within'pillow {blOCk bearings 82. Thedistal portions of the spuds 80 are adapted to be selectively positionedwithin the cavity 64 formed between the cover die 40 and the ejector die60 when the same are in a closed relation as illustrated in FIG. 4.

The innermost ends of the cast article supporting spuds 80 are coupledto the output shaft 84 of a pressure fluid actuated indexing mechanism86 by a flexible coupling 88 which compensates for torque and axialalignment of the spuds 80 and their associated output shafts 84. Ineffect, the flexible coupling 88 acts to cushion the torque applied tothe spuds 80" by the mechanism 86. The indexing mechanism 86 iseffectiveto impart step-by-step rotational movement of the spuds 80 "upon theintroduction of pressure fluid from an appropriate source in a mannersynchronized with the actuation of the other components of the machine,as will be explained in greater detail hereinafter. While the pressurefluid actuated indexing mechanism 86 is illustrated as being positionedwith the longitudinal axis thereof disposed generally horizontally, itwill be understood that the mechanism could likewise be disposed on theturntable 70 with the longitudinal axis being vertical. The pressurefluid for actuating the indexing mechanism 86 is typically introducedinto the main cylinder thereof through ports 89 which arein'communication with a "source of pressure fluid through conduits whichextend centrally of a depending stationary hollow shaft 90 and an exten-Sion thereof 92 which is affixed to the turntable 70 and rotatestherewith. Of course, a fluidtight seal is provided between thestationary shaft 90 and the extension 92 thereof so that no pressurefluid is permitted to escape therefrom. A cam operated valve 94 isconnected between the maincylinder of camming surfaces thereon tothereby vary the position at which the turntable 70 and the spuds 80-areat the moment of actuation of the indexing mechanism 86; Accordingly, asthe turntable 70 is caused to rotate, relative movement is effectedbetween the cam operated valve 94 and the camming surfaces of the collar96, so as to intermittently actuate the valve 94 to allow pressure fluidto be introduced into the indexing mechanism 86 periodically to impartrotation to the output shaft 84 and the associated spud 80. In thepreferred embodiment, the indexing mechanism 86 is set to rotate thespud 80 180 in one direction upon the initial actuation thereof and thenrotate the spud 80 180 in the opposite direction to its initialposition.

It will be noted from an examination of FIG. 5, in particular, that themachine of the invention contains four separate stations; namely, acasting station generally indicated by letter A; a quenching stationindicated by letter B; a trimming station indicated by letter C; and astripping station indicated by letter D.

The foregoing description has been directed primarily to the mechanismfor transferring the cast article from one station to another. At thispoint, more specific description will be made to each of the variousstations. Initially, the casting station A which includes the stationarycover die and the movable ejector die 60, the gooseneck 46, the moltenmetal injecting cylinder 48, and the molten metal furnace 14 must have aprovision for changing or replacing the nozzle 44 on the end of thegooseneck 46. To accomplish this objective, there is provided an A-framesupporting structure which is supported by a pair of spaced aparthorizontally disposed rack arms 100 and 102. The inner ends of the rackarms 100 and 102 are affixed to the stationary platen 10. Suitablepinions, not shown, are rotatably secured within the A-frame supportingstructure 50 and are further commonly coupled to a shaft 104 having anexteriorly positioned manually actuated drive wheel 106. The

, pinions are adapted to mesh with the teeth on the respective racks and102 and cooperatively are effective to impart movement to the A-framestructure 50 toward and away from the stationary platen 10, and moreparticularly, effect movement of the nozzle 44 of the gooseneck 46relative to the gate 42 of the cover die 40. Since the nozzle 44 extendsupwardly beyond the lower surface of the stationary platen 10, provisionmust be made to permit the nozzle assembly to be lowered beneath theplaten 10. Toward this end, the gooseneck 46 is pivotally mounted withthe A-frame structure 50 as generally indicated by reference numeral108. The gooseneck 46 is held in a fixed position with the nozzleassembly 44 adjacent the gate 42 of the cover die40 by threaded fastenermeans 110, as illustrated in FIG. 1. By loosening the fastener means110, the gooseneck assembly 46 may be pivoted about the pivot point 108in such a manner that the nozzle 44 may be lowered to clear the bottomof the platen 10 and be moved away therefrom by manually operating thehand wheel 106. Thereby, the nozzle 44 may be replaced with facility,and the gooseneck assembly 46 may thereafter be'repositioned such thatthe nozzle 44 is adjacent the gate 42 of the cover die 40.

The next adjacent station in a counterclockwise direction from thecasting station A as viewed in FIG. 4, is the quenching station B. Thequenching station '13. comprises a spray booth 112 having suitablyarranged spray heads 114 for directing the application of an atomizedcoolant to the cast article 116 to conduct a sufficient amount of heatenergy away from the cast article to enable the metal to cool, hardenand set to be suitable for clean trimming.

The quenching station B functions to cool the cast articles a sufficientamount to assure that the metal has shrunk its full amount to set thedimensional characteristics thereof prior to trimming. V

The following station is the trimming station C which typically includestrimming dies 117 and 118 which cooperate to I effectively remove thecast article from the sprue, flashing, and runners.

Any die casting has a parting line at the point where the two die halvesof the casting dies 40 and 60 meetQThis parting line is identified by athin flash of metal that is formed where the molten metal is forcedunder pressure between the mating die surfaces. The flash and partinglines, together with the gate 142 and runners 143 must be removed beforethe die casting is usable. This is accomplished by trimming dies of thetype typically referred to as a push-through trimming die which employsa trimming plate 117, and a punch or pusher die 118. The punch 118 issecured to the under surface of the movable platen by depending supportmember 120. The trimming plate 117 is provided with an aperture of theshape of the casting so that when the die casting is placed in betweenthe trimming plate 117 and the punch 118 and the punch 118 forces thecasting through the trimming plate 117. The flash is pinched off betweenthe edges of the punch 118 and the edges of the trimming plate die 117.

The trimmed cast article, or articles, in the case of multipart casting,is caused to drop onto a conveyor or chute and typically travels fromthere to a suitably disposed receptacle for shipping or later handling.

The final station isthe stripping station D which is specificallyillustrated in FIG. 6. The, mechanism of the stripping station D iseffective to remove the metal forming the sprues, flashing, and runnersfrom the supporting spuds 80, causing the material to fall onto a chuteor conveyor, whence it is delivered to a suitable receptacle from whichit is available for remelting and subsequent casting operations Thestripping mechanism includes a base 130 suitably affixed to thestationary platen'10. A slideway 132 is formed to extend longitudinallyalong the upper surface of the base 130 and is adapted to receive a camactuated stripping'slide 134. Beneath the slideway 132, there is anelongate cavity 136 which is formed to guide a peg 138 depending fromthebottoin of the stripping slide 134. A compression spring 140 isdisposed within the cavity 136 and has one end secured to the base 130by a fastener 142 and the other end acting against the peg 138. Thespring 140 functions normally to apply sufficient force to urge the pegagainst the innermost shoulder 144 of the cavity 136, therebymaintaining the stripping slide 134 ina position to the left of thatillustrated in FIG. 6. The stripping slide 134 is provided with achannel 146 at the upper surface thereof and a camming surface 148formed at the-left hand-side of the slide as viewed in FIG. 6.

At the innermost side of the stationary base 130 is an upstanding backupplate 150 having a generally U-shaped yoke portion 152 formed at theupper end thereof. In the relative position of the components of themachine as illustrated in FIG. 5, it will be seen that the portion ofthe spud 80 between the pillow block bearing 82 and the collar 153 ispositioned within the space or zone defined by the yoke portion 152 ofthe backup plate 150, and the inner surface of the collar 153 is inengagement with the outer surface of the backup plate 150 thereby tomillitate against any inward movement of the spud during a strippingoperation.

Depending from the lower surface of the movable platen 20 is asupporting member 156 having a camming attachment 158 at the distal endthereof provided with a camming surface 160 for camming engagement withthe camming surface 148 of the stripping slide 134. It will beappreciated that when the movable platen 20 is in a raised position, thestripping slide is caused to be moved by the spring 140 to a position atthe left of the position illustrated in FIG. 5 and is then cammed to theposition illustrated in FIG. 5 upon the lowering of the platen 20 andassociated support member 156 and the camming attachment 158 whereuponthe cooperation of the downwardly moving camming surface 160 actsagainst the camming surface 148 of the slide 134 to move the slide 134against the bias of the spring 140.

Once again referring specifically to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, there isillustrated a mechanism for providing a counterbalancing characteristicto the heretofore described apparatus. More specifically, a pair of aircylinders 160 and 162 is affixed to the upper surface of the back plate18. Each of the cylinders 160 and 162 is provided with an inlet 164which, through suitable lines 166, is in communication with a source ofpressure fluid. An associated piston rod 168 projects downwardly fromeach of the cylinders 160 and 162 and extends through a suitableaperture in the back plate 18. The free ends of the piston rods 168 arerespectively attached to the movable platen 20. In operation, a constantair pressure is maintained at the inlets 164 which tends to urge thepiston rods 168 and the movable platen 20 upwardly. On the downwardmovement of the platen 20, typically a quick dump valve means isutilized in the inlet 164 to maintain regulated air pressure within thecylinders 160 and 162 and to vent to atmosphere during the downwardcycle. On the upward movement of the platen 20, the upper end of thecylinders 160 and 162 are suitably vented to atmosphere. However, sincethere is a constant pressure admitted to the cylinders 160 and 162, theyact to counterbalance the weight of the platen 20 during its downwardmovement. In the preferred embodiment, at neither of the terminalpositions, either fully up or completely down, of the platen 20, willthe piston and piston rods 168 be permitted to reach a fully stoppedposition with the piston against any internal stops.

In a typical duty cycle of the apparatus described above, the machine isinitially in the position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein the dies40 and 60are in a closed position preparatory to casting. The shotcylinder 48 is actuated causing the plunger 52 to forcefully injectmolten metal from the furnace 14 through the gooseneck 46 into thenozzle 44. From the nozzle 44, the molten metal is injected into themating impressions of the dies 40 and 60. The molten metal flows intothe impressions of the dies 40 and 60 and also around the distal end ofthe spud which is positioned to project into the cavity 64. Then thehydraulic cylinder 36 is energized to move the crossarm 22 and themovable platen 20 into the position illustrated in FIG. 3. The upwardmovement of the movable platen 20 is, of course, assisted by theconstant counterbalancing pressure exerted by the cylinders and 162between the back plate 18 and the platen 20. As the platen 20 is movedupwardly, the ejector die 60 is carried upwardly therewith. During theupward movement of the platen 20, the shaft 54 extends through theaperture 56 thereof and contacts the ejector plate of the ejector die 60causing the ejector pins to be depressed and thereby force thecastingaway from the ejector die 60.

Simultaneously with theupward movement of the platen 20 and the ejectordie 60, the turntable 70 and the associated spuds 80 are caused to bemoved upwardlythrough the action of cylinder 74. Upon energization ofthe cylinder 74, the shaft 72 if is forced upwardly through the collar75. It will be appreciated that upon being released from the ejector die60, the upward movement of the casting and the associated turntable 70and spuds 80 is halted and the ejector die continues its upward travelto permit movement of the casting in a horizontal plane.

The turntable 77 is then caused to rotate by means of the gear reductionunit 78 which drives the collar 75 affixed to the lower turntable 77.The upstanding guide posts 79 effect simultaneous rotary movement ofreciprocating turntable 70 and the associated spuds 80. Manifestly, asthe turntable 70 is rotated, the indexing units 86 also are rotatedtherewith. As the turntable 70'is rotated relative to the dependingshaft 90, the cam actuated switches 94 which control the admission ofpressure fluid into the indexing units 86 are cammed by the cammingcollar 96 affixed to the shaft 90. If-the collar 96 is adjusted to causethe actuation of the switches 94 before the spud 80 reaches thequenching station B, the spud 80 carrying the part cast at the castingstation A will rotate the entire casting through about a horizontalaxis. The point at which the casting is to be rotated by the indexingunits 88 will depend upon the nature of the casting.

Suffice it to say, the casting is then moved to the quenching station Bwhere the spray heads 114 direct a spray of coolant on the casting. Thequenching action at station B occurs simultaneously with a castingoperation which is being accomplished at station A. It will beunderstood that prior to the commencement of each casting operation, thepressure fluid iirthe cylinder 36 is allowed to escape, permitting themovable platen 20 and the associated ejector die 60 to move idownwardlyuntil it is properly positioned on the cover die 40. Simultaneously withthe aforementioned downward movement of the platen 20, the turntable 70is caused to be lowered separated thereby permitting the casting to beproperly located therebetween. The cycle is continued whereupon thetrimming dies 117 and 118 closed by the lowering of the platen 20 whicheffectively removes the cast article from the g ate, runners, andflashing. The cast article thus removed typieally falls to a chute orconveyor therebeneath.

'[Finally, the cycle is repeated and that portion of the casting yyhichincludes the gate, runners, and flashing-is moved to the .strippingstation D where the remaining metal scrap is stripped off from the spud80. When the turntable 70 is lowered, spud 8:0, is disposed within thechannel 146 of the stripping slide 134 such that the metal to be removedis on the outer side of the slide and the collar 153 abuts against theouter surface of the backup plate 150. Upon the downward movement of theplaten 20, the camming surface 160 of the camming attachment cams thecamming surface 148 of the stripping slide r134 to move the same againstthe metal attached to the end of *t'hespud 8 to remove the sametherefrom. Typically, the .metal thus removedfalls downwardly onto achute or con- 've yor and is returned to the furnace 14 for rernelting.

"-While mention has been made heretofore that the trimming station Cemploys a push through type trimming die, it will be apparentto thoseskilled in the art that the apparatus of the invention is adaptable forincorporation of a number of different .types of trimming diearrangement such as a positive knockout vtype or other types well knownin the art. Suffice it to say that the apparatus readily adopts itselfto many types of trimming dies.

:Also, the description of the machine has made reference to there beingfour spuds 180. Manifestly, the number of spuds J80 may'be varied tosuit the particular application desired. [It will be appreciated thatthe apparatus described hereinabove provides a means for producingcastings with .great efficiency, continuity of parts, and minimal amountof labor necessary to satisfactorily perform the operation.

l'n accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes l haveexplained the principle and mode of operation of my in vention and haveillustrated and described what I now consider to represent its bestembodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated anddescribed without de- Iparting from its spirit or scope.

- flclaim: I "l. A vertical die casting machine comprising:

a casting station including a stationary lower die member and a moveableupper die member;

, Yi'neans for vertically moving said die member into and out of closedcasting relation;

means for injecting molten metal into said die members when said diemembers are in closed casting relation for producing a cast articlehaving associated flashing;

a plurality of cast article and flashing supporting means cooperatingwith said die members of said casting station onto which the castarticle and associated flashing are formed;

a quenching station circumferentially spaced from said casting stationfor cooling the cast article and associated flashing;

a trimming station circumferentially spaced from said quenching stationfor removing the cast article from the associated flashing; v i

a stripping station circumferentially spaced from said trimming stationfor removing the residual flashing from said supporting means, includingmeans for applying a force to said residual flash to strip said flashfrom said cast article supporting means;

means for sequentially moving said cast article and flashing supportingmeans to each of said casting, quenching, trimming and strippingstations; and

means for rotating said supporting means about a horizontal axis throughat least between said casting and trimming stations to properly positionthe cast article in said trimming station. I

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said means for sequentiallymoving said cast article and flashing supporting means includes aturntable which is rotatable about a vertical axis.

3. The invention defined in claim 2 ,wherein said turntable is mountedon a vertically extending shaft.

4. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein said shaft is provided withmeans to impart selective vertical movement thereto. v

5. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said. means for verticallymoving said die'members includes a vertically movable platen memberconnected to one of said die members.

6. The invention defined in claim 5 which further includes a stationaryback plate having depending linkage means interconnected to said movableplaten member.

7. The invention defined in claim 6 including a stationary shaftdepending from said back plate for selective engagement with the movableone of said dies for ejectingthe cast article therefrom upon the upwardmovement of said movable platen and said die member.

8. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said stripping stationconsists of a cam actuated stripping means for removing the flashingfrom said supporting means.

9. The invention defined in claim 8 wherein said cast article andflashing supporting means include an integral collar, and said strippingstation includes a fixed support which cooperates with said collarpositively retaining said supporting means against outward axialmovement upon actuation of said cam actuated stripping means.

10. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein said means for sequentiallymoving said supporting means includes a second rotatable turntable, saidsecond turntable disposed beneath said first mentionedturntable, andsecond turntable having upstanding linkage means which imparts rotarymovement to said first mentioned turntable and permits verticaldisplacement therebetween.

